1 Samuel 14:6

JONATHAN'S VICTORY AGAINST THE PHILISTINES

"And Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, "Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us; for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few." And his armor-bearer said to him, "Do all that your mind inclines to; behold, I am with you, as is your mind, so is mine." Then said Jonathan, "Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. If they say to us, `Wait until we come to you,' then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. But if they say, `Come up to us,' then we will go up; for the Lord has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us." So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines; and the Philistines said, "Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hid themselves." And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer, "Come up to us, and we will show you a thing." And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, "Come up after me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel." Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him. and that first slaughter which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, was of about twenty men within as it were half a furrow's length in an acre of land. And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison and even the raiders trembled; the earth quaked; and it became a very great panic."

"Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few" (1 Samuel 14:6). The remarkable faith of Jonathan is evident throughout this chapter. Some have supposed that he might have been inspired by the Spirit of God which is not at all unlikely.

If they say, `Come up to us,' then we will go up (1 Samuel 14:8). Keil explained this sign as indicating cowardice on the part of the garrison;[9] but it seems to this writer that the sign might have been altogether an arbitrary one revealed to Jonathan by the Lord. The garrison might have thought the two men were defectors to their side, or that it was beneath the dignity of the whole garrison to go after only two opponents.

"Hebrews are coming out of holes where they have hid themselves" (1 Samuel 14:11). H. P. Smith wrote that, "This expression does not necessarily presuppose the account in 1 Samuel 13:6";[10] but, of course, that is exactly what it does presuppose.

"And they fell before Jonathan" (1 Samuel 14:13). The amazing success of this attack was due to "its utter surprise."[11] Another similar historical victory achieved by scaling what was thought to be an impossible place of ascent is that of General James Wolfe who scaled the bluff along the St. Lawrence river below Quebec on the night of Sept. 13,1759, and on the following morning surprised and defeated the Marquis de Montcalm; and the continent of North America went over to the British![12] However, in Jonathan's victory, the surprise was only the human side of it; there was also a timely earthquake (1 Samuel 14:15) that completely finished all resistance by the Philistines.

"As it were half a furrow's length in an acre of land" (1 Samuel 14:14). Keil calculated this measurement to be about the same as "a rod,"[13] which is the equivalent of five and one half yards, sixteen and one half feet, or 5.02 meters.

"The earth quaked" (1 Samuel 14:15). Some scholars have supposed this 'quake' to have been a reference to the earth-shaking stampede of the Philistines, but we believe the opinion of scholars such as H. P. Smith and John Willis is correct. "God intervened in Israel's behalf by causing an earthquake."[14]